Atlantica - 01.09.2004, Page 22

20 A T L A N T I C A
airmail
twl Things we like
Career Camera Turns 50
The Hasselblad 905SWC has been the premiere medium-format camera
since its inception in 1954. Scores of professional photographers have
been making their living using this one model of camera alone. Keeping
its classic look, the Hassleblad has been revamped, with improvements
throughout, including its legendary Biogen CFi 4.5/ 38 mm lens.
USB Swiss Army Knife
It shouldn’t be too surprising to find out that Victorinox has added a USB
flash memory stick to their newest version of the Swiss Army Knife. This
ultra-modern prototype of the tried and true all-purpose tool also comes
with the usual scissors, nail file and paring knife.
The cost is fairly affordable at around 55 for the 64MB model. Victorinox
has yet to announce the price of the 128MB model. The memory chip will
be provided by a company called Swissbit, which has been producing
flash memory modules for over ten years.
Bluetooth
This is a technology rather than an actual gadget, but we thought it was
worth mentioning. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that was
developed by Ericsson to interconnect phones, computers, keyboards,
and headsets without requiring a direct line-of-sight. The range is rather
short; Bluetooth only works within a 30-metre radius.
It has been used for some obvious applications – you can update your
contacts in your phone from the address book in your laptop without
buying some easily lost cable that only works for one type of phone and
requires a lot of extra hassle to set up. You can use your phone as a
remote control for a slideshow presentation you may be giving. It’s also
been put to other (not so obvious) uses, such as in singles bars to pass
anonymous messages to anyone who happens to have their Bluetooth
turned on in your vicinity.
Beamer (TM) Video Phones
To give your telephone calls that space-age feeling, you should probably
go out and buy these video phones. They cost about 500 for a set of two-
the savings in purchasing only one undercut by the phone’s uselessness
without a partner on the other end. These might be a good idea for a
long-distance relationship and, then again, they might not. We do not
recommend this for people who have recently moved away to university
to communicate with parents, however liberal those parents may be.
The phones transmit colour video and quality audio over any standard
(analogue) phone line. You just have to attach the Beamer to your phone
line and plug the Beamer into your home phone. The design is rather like
Bang & Olufsen meets Ikea.








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